


Mango Season is a Poor Substitute for You

by wanderingscholarlad



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: F/F, Light Angst, M/M, Neurodivergent Nicky, Neurodivergent Nile, Nicky and Nile are neurodivergent solidarity, Nicky gets hangry, Quynh and Nile are Nicky's lovable pest sisters, Snacks for Nicky, Team as Family, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, bc I'm me half of this revolves around how family and home are connected to the kitchen, facetiming the love of your life while he's on a mission, lots of comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:42:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26312839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderingscholarlad/pseuds/wanderingscholarlad
Summary: Joe, Andy and Booker are in Dubai, doing reconnaissance for a  job Copley’s been watching. Some big multinational is spiking tea with experimental chemicals - Nicky didn’t quite follow the whole explanation honestly, he’d been thinking about dinner.Nile introduces the millennial grandpas to FaceTime when Joe is on a mission and Nicky is moping about it. That's it, that's the fic.
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 97
Kudos: 644





	Mango Season is a Poor Substitute for You

**Author's Note:**

> This beautiful edit by @nico-di-genova gave me so many feelings about Nicky and Joe being sappy that I had to write something for them.  
> https://nico-di-genova.tumblr.com/post/628357694986829824/when-you-finally-learn-how-to-use-technology-so
> 
> Thank you to the lovely @2manyboys for betaing my sappy nonsense

Nicky and Joe don’t need to be in each other’s pockets constantly - there’s a comfortable trust that comes from knowing your partner intimately, you don’t need to be next to them all the time in order to know that you are loved. Being together is lovely, but being apart hasn’t phased them in some time. They’ve been in love for over eight hundred years by now, and so they’re well aware that they can’t spend every moment hand in hand. They don’t need to either, but it’s only been six years since the events in London, and while things are somewhat sorted with Booker and Quynh, they’re all still on shaky ground with each other. It’s better than it was in the very early days of being reunited but there’s an unspoken hesitance in how they interact with each other.

Joe, Andy and Booker are in Dubai, doing reconnaissance for a job Copley’s been watching. Some big multinational is spiking tea with experimental chemicals - Nicky didn’t quite follow the whole explanation honestly, he’d been thinking about dinner. It’s hard to focus on anything when he’s hungry, and they had rushed through breakfast. For some reason, Andy has insisted on having meetings in increasingly sketchy and far away places. Copley has a lovely house, with a functional kitchen, but no, they have to meet at a maritime museum outside Portsmouth. Theoretically, Nicky had been promised lunch at the cafe on site. The cafe on site, however, is very much closed. He would be listening more carefully to Copley, but he’s not going with them to Dubai, so he figures it’s fine that he’s more focused on thinking about dinner. If there’s anything important he can always ask Andy about it again later. He’s gotten very adept at trading baklava for information. He, Nile and Quynh are going to Thailand, to wait for the others somewhere far enough away not to be suspicious, but close enough that they can be in Dubai in a few hours if the need arises.

Nicky had leaned against Joe’s shoulder for a moment, just taking a minute to be grumpy, and Quynh gives him a sideways look. She can tell something is up with him, has spent centuries being his pest of an older sister, but they’re still relearning their friendship, and she’s not yet sure enough to bully him like she used to. He gives her a small smile, one that she returns, and then they both focus back on Copley.

“I’ll let you sort out the details, Booker.” They’re wrapping up apparently. Booker and Copley talk for a moment longer, heads bent together, but Nicky is already walking back towards the car.

“We’re stopping at the first service station you see,” he grumbles at Andy. She’s the driver, but she’s also the reason he’s hangry. Joe’s laughing at him, and he wants to grumble at him too but he really can’t. 

* * *

Booker goes to Dubai. He’s good at playing at being the kind of rich white asshole big companies love to pander to, and he’s their forger and tech guy. Andy goes because she’ll go absolutely insane sitting in a safehouse and waiting. Joe goes because even after all these centuries, he speaks the best Arabic and because people can’t help but love Joe. Between him and Booker, they’ll be able to get in anywhere. 

That leaves Nicky, Nile and Quynh in the safehouse outside Bangkok. It’s the wet season, ungodly humid and they spend most of their time sitting around waiting for updates. They aren't used to the humidity and they end up lying on the floor in shorts and singlets, dying a little. It doesn’t help that their house has no aircon and the running water is dodgy at best.

“Did Andy pick this place specifically to spite us?” Nile asks one morning, sinking down cross legged near where Nicky and Quynh are lying on the wooden floor under the one stand fan they’ve managed to find. She passes them plates of the mangoes she’d been cutting up and shifts so the stream of the fan catches her better. Her hair is piled on top of her head and she still feels like it’s weighing on her shoulders in the sticky heat.

“At least it's mango season,” Quynh says, almost amicably, “Andromache isn’t all cruelness.”

Nicky just sighs. Mango season and swimming in the sea near Pattaya and spending time with Quynh and Nile is wonderful, but the humidity is something else and he misses Joe, more than he can explain. 

They’ve both gotten better as time created distance from London. In the first few months after the events with Merrick, they were hesitant to be too far from each other. Out of the same room was bad enough, let alone going to the shops without the other. This is the furthest apart they’ve been in decades and something in Nicky is wound tight, antsy with it. Even with the insufferable heat, he pulls the sheets tight across his shoulders, trying to mimic the feeling of Joe holding him. He wakes up - more than once - with his heart pounding and hands tangling in the fabric, subconsciously looking for Joe.

Nile finds him outside on those mornings, sitting there and staring blankly towards where he knows Joe is, even if he cannot possibly see all the way to Dubai. She sits down next to him with a sigh and passes over a glass of water or a banana. Nicky can be a pest when he’s hungry, so they all make sure to keep fruit or granola bars handy, but this is something different. He’s miles away right now. All Nile and Quynh can do is pester him about coming swimming with them and push food at him. 

The fact that Quynh still loves swimming is a mystery to all of them, but Nile thinks she might understand it. The freedom of taking back something that scared you, knowing that Quynh can stand on the ground, supported by the water and still feel the sun on her face - it must be empowering. Quynh admitted to her the other night, that the water is almost comforting after so long. She’s the one struggling least with the humidity, laughs at them when they complain about being sticky. They take turns tugging Nicky out of his melancholy and along with them to keep him busy. He spends so much of his time looking after the rest of them usually that it’s almost gratifying to get a chance to support him in return. 

They don’t talk much those mornings, Nicky’s not exactly verbose at the best of times and he’s quieter when he’s upset about something, especially if Joe isn’t there. So Nile is almost surprised when he does speak up, “It’s not usually like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“When Joe and I aren’t together - normally it’s fine, we don’t expect to spend every minute together, that would be too much. Something’s changed though, recently.”

Nile knows only too well what he’s dancing around saying. It’s been the elephant in the room for the past six years. The way what happened with Merrick traumatised them all, and the various ways they’ve coped with it.

For Andy, having Quynh back has made a massive difference, but she’s come alive, wild with her new mortality - the rest of them can only watch in awe as Andy burns brighter than they’ve ever seen her. It’s like something about what happened with Merrick has flipped a switch in her and reminded her that she needs to live life to the fullest.

For Nile, she’s still processing the weight of immortality. Some days are easier than others, and having the unconditional support of her new family has helped. Joe with his easy affection and long talks about art, Andy’s tough love, Nicky’s gentle insistence on rest and good food, Booker’s understanding of the pain of newness. Even Quynh has played a part in Nile’s coming to terms with immortality. Though with Quynh it’s more about the two of them trying to push their bodies to extremes for kicks, testing the limits of their immortality together. 

Booker’s tentative with all of them, what he did forgiven, but not yet forgotten. His exile was needed for everyone involved, but the subsequent “Quynh and Booker go on a road trip and fall in love with the world all over again” definitely helped the healing process along. Joe’s one of the first to welcome him back, had missed his brother painfully in the years they’d been separated. Nicky is a little more hesitant at first, but Booker’s done his penance, and brought Quynh back to them, and that’s a blessing Nicky won’t overlook. 

For Nicky and Joe though, they’ve coped together. There’d been a few months where they wouldn’t move more than a few paces from each other, and then wouldn’t leave the room without the other. They’ve been more settled recently, and had easily agreed to the separation this mission brought on, but everyone’s conscious that this isn't going to be an easy separation. 

“It’s alright to miss him, Nicky,” Nile promises, “I missed my family every time I had to be away from them for more than a few days, and the two of you went through a lot in London.”

Nicky shrugs, quiet again. He feels like he should be stronger than this, knows he is usually stronger than this. He caves though, dropping his head to lean against Nile’s shoulder and smiling softly when she leans her head against his. They’re a tactile bunch, even if the humidity makes longer contact uncomfortable right now.

Quynh drops down behind them and wraps her arms around them both, “Why are we hugging?”

“Nicky misses Joe,” Nile can be such a little sister sometimes and Nicky grouches, she really had to dob him in with Quynh like that.

Quynh squishes them tighter for a moment and then sits next to him, “That’s rough buddy.”

Nicky really regrets letting Nile introduce Quynh to iconic tv of the last century, however, she’s not exactly wrong.

“Why don’t you facetime him?” Nile suggests after they’ve been sitting there a while.

“What?” Nicky’s face is scrunching up, the way it does when he finds something Nile’s said absolutely incomprehensible. He’d looked at her like that when she’d excitedly said “same hat” when she’d noticed him absently biting the sleeve of his hoodie during a team movie night, she’d had to explain stimming to him and there’d been a moment where she could see the lightbulb coming on in his mind. Now whenever he notices her stimming, he enthusiastically goes, “same hat” which isn’t quite what she’d meant, but it’s cool to have it so easily accepted. He makes the same confused face whenever she tries to explain millennial slang. Joe though, is a millennial in both senses of the word, and loves internet slang. Yeet, in particular, has become a common refrain on missions.

“FaceTime? You know, video calling? Come on gramps, let's get you set up.” For a group of stupidly successful mercenaries, they can be very out of the loop.

* * *

Nile facetimes Booker, he’s the only one she trusts not to just ignore the phone. Andy would probably crush it underfoot, Nile’s seen her track record with technology.

Booker answers, a little confused but nonetheless happy to see Nile, “Is everything okay? No one’s died?”

“Why do you immediately assume something’s wrong?” Nile’s affronted, they’re behaving perfectly well thank you.   
“So you and Quynh aren’t diving off waterfalls for kicks anymore?”

“That was once, Book, once.”

“And we will never let you live it down,” Andy yells, coming into frame, “But seriously, has someone died?”

“No, no. Nicky’s just being sappy and wants to see his husband.”

“Gross,” Booker murmurs before yelling for Joe. Nile sets up the phone so that Nicky can hang out by the kitchen bench and talk to Joe. It really does feel like she’s helping her grandpa with technology sometimes. She and Quynh wave at the camera but head off, unspoken mutual agreement to give Nicky some space, heading down to the beach to laze about in the sun for a bit. Nicky doesn’t need them there while he talks to Joe, he likes his privacy about some things after all. 

Seeing Joe on camera feels weirdly surreal, they never talk like this, and Nicky can’t help but reach out and touch the screen. The soft ache in his chest that’s been bothering him since they arrived in Thailand becomes a yawning chasm, and he’s not sure if this is actually going to help, or just make him miss Joe even more.

“Hayati, just let me go somewhere quiet. Oh shut up Andy, don’t be crude-” He directs the last bit off camera and Nicky can’t help the laugh that escapes him, of course Andy’s teasing Joe, she can’t help it.

Nicky watches as the screen just becomes blurry white t-shirt and movement as Joe goes in search of somewhere to talk quietly. It’s weird, even seeing Joe’s blurry shirt is settling the frantic buzzing under his shoulders. He prefers it though, when Joe sets down the phone and smiles at him. 

“What time is it for you?” Joe asks. He looks sleepy, curls wild, and Nicky’s trying to remember what the time difference is like.

“Ten am, what time is it for you?”   
“Seven - Andy’s had us up since five though, we’ve got a good lead on what’s going on.”

“Oh?” Nicky’s extremely content to just listen to Joe talk. It’s maybe his favourite pastime. “Yeah, we think that the guy who runs the factory is the problem, not the company itself - though like, it’s a corporation so it’s a problem.” Joe explains the whole situation to him and Nicky’s only half listening, mainly just watching Joe talk. He’s leaning his cheek in his hand and smiling, so glad Nile set this up. 

“Are you even listening, love?” Joe asks after a while and Nicky shakes himself slightly.

“Yes, yes. You were saying that you’re going to go look around the factory tonight. Be safe?”   
“Always. Now, tell me about you. What chaos are the three of you up to?”

Nicky shrugs again, “Not much. Nile says I’m no fun when I’m moping. We swim most days, and the food is good here.” He brushes over the bit about him moping, hoping Joe will leave it alone. 

“Moping?” He should have known better.

“I just miss you,” Nicky admits, shrugging a little, he’s shrugging a lot at the moment.

“Oh Nicky, I miss you as well. Holding a pillow while I sleep is not the same,” Joe looks like he wants to reach through the screen, the way Nicky had tried to earlier.

“It’s only a few more days,” Nicky says, trying not to be dramatic about this. After all, what’s two weeks apart after eight hundred years together?

“A few more days feels like a century without you,” Joe admits in turn, he’s been missing Nicky just as badly and even with all his skill with language, can’t quite put into words how the sight of Nicky, safe and smiling, settles the tightness that had looped itself around his heart on the flight to Dubai. 

“You’re a sap.”

“I’m your sap.”

“Yeah.”

They sit there, just smiling at each other, for a long moment. 

“It’s only a few more days,” Nicky repeats, more for himself than anything. 

“It is, and then we’ll be in Thailand together, maybe go away for a week?” Joe suggests, already thinking about the arrangements. 

“Yeah, that sounds nice.” 

Joe’s tucking a curl behind his ear and Nicky’s tracking the movement of his hand closely, as entranced by Joe as he always is. They talk a while longer, just basking in a moment of contentment together. 

After a while longer, Nicky’s stomach grumbles. Joe laughs at him. They’ve been talking for almost three hours, and that means it’s past lunch time in Thailand. Quynh and Nile are probably on their way back from the beach too.

“I should go make lunch. I love you. Be safe tonight.”

“I love you too, and hey, keep that shirt, I like it on you.” Nicky looks down at his shirt in surprise, it’s one of his plain black t-shirts, nothing special. Though he supposes Joe is referring to the fact that he got Quynh to cut the sleeves off in a fit of frustration at the way they’d clung against his arms in the humidity. It had felt bad and the shirt without them is much more comfortable. He hadn’t even considered that it might look good.

“I can do that.” Nicky’s hesitant to hang up, it’s been good to talk to Joe, but it’s only a few more days after all, and he’s feeling far more settled.

“Go on, go eat something,” Joe prompts and Nicky smiles, a proper wide smile, and hangs up. Joe isn’t even in the same timezone as him and he can still make Nicky feel so safe and loved.

* * *

Joe drops the tablet back into Booker’s lap and scoops up his sketchbook from the coffee table, dropping into an armchair and flipping open to a fresh page. It’s almost comforting to know that Nicky’s been as unsettled by the separation as he has been. They’ve both been a little off but seeing each other has helped and he wants to get Nicky’s soft expression and the curve of his sun bronzed shoulders down on paper.

Booker glances over his shoulder, but doesn’t say anything. He’s painfully aware that Joe’s moping the past few days has been because he’s missing Nicky like an amputated limb. Booker’s only too cognisant of the part he’s played in causing their fear of separation, and none of them need to be reminded of that.

Andy has no such qualms about teasing Joe.

“So, Nicky? Does he have it just as bad?”   
“Hmm?” Joe asks, focussing on getting the way Nicky’s hair had fallen over his forehead just right on paper. 

“Is he moping as much as you?”

“More. Like you and Quynh are any better than us though.”

“We just have more practice at this,” Andy says it a little sadly though and Joe and Booker both look up sharply, “Oh don’t look at me like that, we’re on a job. We have to do things we don’t like sometimes.”

Joe reaches out and squeezes her hand before focusing back on his sketchbook, Andy doesn’t particularly like being pushed about her emotions.

* * *

When Nile and Quynh get back, Nicky’s in the kitchen, humming along to the radio as he cooks. They share a look, half surprise and half knowing. Cooking is Nicky’s love language and he hasn’t really felt up to it in the past few days so it’s comforting to see him standing at the kitchen bench.

“I hope you aren’t planning on turning the oven on, I might have to kill you,” Nile says, mostly joking, but a little serious. If he warms up the house she will not be pleased.

“It’s a cold salad, don’t worry,” Nicky’s smiling as he finely slices a green mango.

“How’s Joe?” Quynh asks, faux casual as she opens the fridge in search of something to drink.

“Good - they’re going to try and infiltrate the factory tonight. They’ll be joining us here in a few days.”

“Nice,” Quynh hums as she tosses a water bottle to Nile and steals a slice of mango off the cutting board. Nicky whacks her hand absently and Nile smiles at the sight of them both. It’s weird to be without the others for any stretch of time, but she’s still surrounded by family here and it’s a wonderful thing. She’d never imagined herself sitting in a Thai kitchen, watching her family bicker over lunch, but now she’s here, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr @wandering-scholar-lad, come yell at me about these lovable dorks.


End file.
